What's driving ammo sales?

Published: Sunday, April 14, 2013 at 12:13 AM.

The nation’s 100 million firearms owners are driving the market for sales of some 10 billion rounds annually, said Lawrence Keane, whose National Shooting Sports Foundation is based in Newtown.

“It's not limited geographically to New York or anywhere else,” he said. “It is nationwide.”

Keane, whose shooting foundation also represents manufacturers, said the reports of massive federal purchases of ammunition are not true.

The government routinely buys products in bulk to reduce costs, and Homeland Security has said the latest purchases are no different.

“The thing is, most of these people feel like they’re not at fault,” Keane said. “They’re law-abiding citizens and they’re the ones who are going to be punished. The criminals are not going to follow these new laws.”

Ammunition shortages have become such a problem nationwide, some businesses have resorted to rationing.

Shooters Express in nearby Gaston County is limiting customers to two boxes per caliber per day on all merchandise.

American Tactical and Pawn on Dekalb Street in Shelby is having a hard time keeping stock of 9 mm rounds and .223-caliber rounds used in the AR-15 rifle, said salesman Larry Surretsky.

But Surretsky said gun and ammo sales overall have actually slowed at the Shelby shop.

Ammo shortages appear largely tied to gun enthusiasts who are worried about the potential for new weapon controls. But it’s also a reaction to persistent rumors that government agents are hoarding supply by buying up bullets left and right, officials say.

Surretsky, a Vietnam veteran who works at the Shelby pawn shop part time, said he believes some people put stock in such rumors in part because they are frustrated they are being made out to be the bad guys.

He believes there’s newfound comfort in the resistance a majority of Congress has shown to proposals such as an assault weapons ban.

“A lot of our customers watch the news,” said Surretsky. “They realize some of this stuff is not going to pass because it’s not very popular.”

Reloaded issue

Events such as President Obama’s re-election, followed by the Newtown school shooting in December, sent gun enthusiasts into a buying spree due to worries about pending, restrictive legislation. That’s continued even in places such as North Carolina, where new gun controls are not on the General Assembly’s agenda.

The ebb and flow of the gun control discussion hit another high mark this past week when Connecticut became the latest state to crack down.

Their governor signed a measure that immediately added more than 100 firearms to the state's assault weapons ban, created a dangerous weapon offender registry and instituted eligibility rules for ammunition purchases.

Widespread interest

The nation’s 100 million firearms owners are driving the market for sales of some 10 billion rounds annually, said Lawrence Keane, whose National Shooting Sports Foundation is based in Newtown.

“It's not limited geographically to New York or anywhere else,” he said. “It is nationwide.”

Keane, whose shooting foundation also represents manufacturers, said the reports of massive federal purchases of ammunition are not true.

The government routinely buys products in bulk to reduce costs, and Homeland Security has said the latest purchases are no different.

“The thing is, most of these people feel like they’re not at fault,” Keane said. “They’re law-abiding citizens and they’re the ones who are going to be punished. The criminals are not going to follow these new laws.”

Reach Michael Barrett at 704-869-1826 or twitter.com/GazetteMike. The Associated Press contributed to this story.